Plagued by the departures of top talents in the late 1990s and 2000s and knowing that they would not be able to outbid teams in the free-agent market for big-money athletes, the Cleveland Indians long ago set out a strategy to retain their core players through long-term extensions early in their careers.
The Indians continued to put that strategy into practice by reaching a five-year deal with infielder Jose Ramirez Tuesday. In addition to the five years, the contract contains club options for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
“I think they’ve done a very good job of trying to not just tie up the core guys, but identifying the core guys,” Indians manager Terry Francona said of the front office. “In all reality, because we think we’re a better baseball team, a better organization now, guys are probably more willing to want to stay, and I think that’s a good thing.”
Despite struggling through his first three years with the Indians, Ramirez settled into a spot at third base and had a career year with 176 hits in 565 at-bats over 152 games during the 2016 regular season. Ramirez smacked 46 doubles, hit three triples and belted 11 home runs with 76 runs batted in and 84 scored.
During the postseason, Ramirez had 15 hits in 56 at-bats with two doubles and one home run, which proved to be the only run in a 1-0 Indians victory over the Chicago Cubs in Game 3 of the 2016 World Series at Wrigley Field.
“I want to make mention of once again thanking ownership for the great financial support they continue providing us in securing another key member of our organization for the foreseeable future because without that support, we wouldn’t be able to have the continuity of the roster we’ve had over the last few years,” Indians president Chris Antonetti said.
“As we look forward, we’re in a good position as far as our ability to maintain a lot of our core guys.”
Having never hit above .265 when given at least 235 at-bats in a season, Ramirez smacked the 176 hits, 60 of which went for extra bases, in those 565 plate appearances. Along with his 44 walks, 22 stolen bases and .312 batting average, Ramirez set single-season highs in every major statistical category.
With Ramirez’s new contract, the Indians now have 20 players signed or available for club options through the 2018 season.
Included on that list are All-Stars in second baseman Jason Kipnis, shortstop Francisco Lindor, outfielder Michael Brantley, starting pitchers Danny Salazar and Corey Kluber, as well as left-handed reliever Andrew Miller and closer Cody Allen.
“If you look at the composition of this roster over the last couple of years, the fact that we’ve had a lot of cost certainty with a lot of our core players has allowed us to be able to have the flexibility to go out and sign guys like Edwin (Encarnacion),” Antonetti said.
“At the same time, you have to make sure you’re investing in the right people. I think we’ve been fortunate the guys that we’ve invested in have carried on their commitment with the work that they’ve put forward and maintaining that determination to be good players despite having some economic security.”
